Healthier People, Safer Communities

Partners are what makes the AK VDRS successful

The AK VDRS was developed using many longtime established partners who have been involved in other public health projects and surveillance activities including the Alaska Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation project (established 1991) and the Alaska Trauma Registry.

Cooperation from the Alaska Sate Troopers, Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Alaska Bureau of Vital Statistics, The Office of the Medical Examiner, and many local law enforcement agencies.

Additional assistance in ensuring the success of the AK VDRS program comes from the countless hours of dedication and program direction provided to AK VDRS staff from the members of the AK VDRS advisory group.

Challenges

Alaska law enforcement agencies often face unique cultural, environmental, geographical and jurisdictional issues when conducting investigations and archiving of case files. These issues include:

  • Vast, undeveloped expanses with 656,425 square miles of land; 6640 miles of coastline; population density of ~1.0 person per sq. mile
  • Rough terrain that complicates discovery, recovery and investigation of deaths
  • Limited transportation infrastructure by air, water and land
  • State, federal and tribal authority
  • Records for each death must be located, requested and abstracted in a timely manner
  • Only fully adjudicated records are entered into the database thereby ensuring no legal cases pending before the courts are compromised

Alaska

For information about National Violent Death Reporting System partners and resources, please visit CDC's NVDRS Partners page.

For more information, please contact:

Scott Saxon, Public Health Specialist
AK VDRS Program Coordinator
3601 C Street, Suite 222
PO Box 240249
Anchorage, Ak 99524

907-269-8050
907-269-2041 (fax)